Why Cold Calling Isn’t Dead (and Other Social Selling Myths Debunked!)

If you thought the rise of social selling meant the end of cold calling, think again. Sales expert Mike Brooks debunks four of the most common social selling myths.

A few years ago, with the arrival of social media and social selling (sales 2.0 they called it), there was an almost euphoric sense spreading throughout the sales community. Everyone suddenly hoped (and, some still hold out the hope), that the worst part of their job — cold calling — was now a thing of the past.
With the thousands of potential connections, message boards, and leadership groups available, it was predicted you would no longer have to dial endlessly to find the right person, and that simply by joining the right group, you would instantly have the key to the corporate suite. Suddenly, sales gurus came out with elaborate systems and programs that showed you how to eliminate the dreaded cold call from your daily life and how — by just crafting the right marketing campaigns or emails or posts — you could generate hundreds of qualified leads who would actually reach out to you. Life would be grand!
Well, what happened? Reality sunk in.

Myth #1: Cold Calling is Dead

Unfortunately, anyone still in sales can tell you that while social selling has changed things, one thing it hasn’t changed is the need to still pick up the phone and have a conversation with a prospect. Okay, just to show everyone out there that I’m not stuck in the dark ages — yes, many of the outbound calls you have to make may no longer be completely cold (we don’t have call from the yellow pages — remember those?). But it is also still true that you are going to have to make calls to people who don’t know you, or don’t necessarily want to be sold to.
We can refer to these calls as whatever we’d like: warm calls, introduction calls, follow-up calls, exploratory calls, etc.. The bottom line is that if you don’t already have an established relationship with someone, and you have to pick up the phone and qualify and set up a demo or presentation of your product or service, then you have to make what I still consider a cold call. So now that we know cold calling is here to stay, let’s take a look at a few other common social selling myths.

Myth #2: Nobody Returns Emails Anymore

It may seem as if getting a response from an email is as impossible as getting a response from a voice mail, but that’s not true, if you know how to use the “new rules” of email. Here are two resources for you:
1) Tips from Andy Horner on Utilizing Email in the Age of Social Media

If you would like to know how to stand out from your competition, accelerate relationships, Wake-Up silent prospects and actually get clients excited to work with you, then you’ll want to Join Us on Wednesday, June 18th as Andy Horner shares with you the New Tool of Email in the Age of Social Media.
2) A Quick Template
If you’d like a guaranteed email to get over 65% of prospects who haven’t been getting back to you to finally respond to your email, then use this proven email technique.

Subject line: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Dear _________,

I haven’t heard back from you and that tells me one of three things:

1. You’ve filled the position or you’ve already chosen another company for this.
2.  You’re still interested but haven’t had the time to get back to me yet.
3.  You’ve fallen and can’t get up, and in that case please let me know and I’ll call 911 for you…

Please let me know which one it is because I’m starting to worry.

Honestly, all kidding aside, I understand you’re a very busy individual and the last thing I want to do is be pain in the neck once a week. Whether you’ve just been busy or you’ve gone another direction, I would appreciate it if you would take a second to let me know so I can follow up accordingly.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Kind Regards,

If this made you smile, then it’ll make your prospects smile, too. But don’t take my word for how effective this is! Adjust it to fit your product or service and see for yourself.

Myth #3: LinkedIn is Just a Glorified Place to Put a Resume

Question for you: How many actual sales have you gotten from LinkedIn? If your answer is, “Not many,” then you are probably making the same mistakes the majority t of your competition is making. For example: If you’re trying to join groups and participate like everyone else, then you’ll get lost just like everyone else. If you’re building your profile like a resume, then it will get treated like a resume (thrown away!).

Myth #4: Webinars are for Big Companies Only

Social media is all about putting you in front of your target audience and positioning you as an expert. Webinars are one of the best tools to do this, as well. So, the question is: How many webinars have you, as a sales professional, put together and successfully run? Once again, if your answer is, “Not many,” then once again, I’ve got good news for you! Once you learn the right technology (easy, fast, and inexpensive), you can create what is known as evergreen webinars that run on-demand and still have the look and feel of a new and live webinar. This means you can be in front of hundreds of potential clients 24/7 without having to do anything (except creating it to begin with).

Upcoming Webinar

If you would like to learn more about the tips above as well as combining social media with traditional sales techniques, join me for my upcoming webinar series “Sales 2.5: Combining the New Tools with the Old Rules to Maximize Sales.” You’ll hear insights from top experts that will help you make more sales in today’s rapidly evolving sales environment.
 
Photo by: Jamie